Week 6 | Stay in the Game interview with Matt Forté

Matt Forte is a former NFL All-Pro running back and philanthropist whose life and career are defined by resilience, purpose, and impact. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2008, was named one of the top 50 players in the NFL in 2015, and still remains one of only three players in NFL history to record over 1,000 rushing yards and 100 receptions in a single season. In 2013, he and his wife, Danielle, co-founded the What's Your Forte Foundation, a Chicago-based organization focused on the economic empowerment of youth and families across the city's south and west sides by addressing both physical and spiritual needs, strengthening the family unit, and nurturing the next generation of leaders. We're excited to hear how Matt's faith impacted his career and gave him purpose and impact beyond the field. Please welcome Matt Forte. Hey, good morning, Willow. I want to welcome all of our Willow locations. Great to have you this weekend. As you know, we've been in this series called The Jesus Way, which is a journey through the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7. We're going to hit pause on our journey through the Sermon on the Mount because we have a very special guest on Super Bowl weekend. I know you just did it, but put your hands together across all of our locations for Matt Forte. Really great to have you this weekend. Thank you. Good to be here. Matt and I have gotten to know each other just a little bit over the last few weeks and really it's a privilege to have you here. Not only an incredible football player, but more importantly, incredible man of God and grateful just to talk about life, talk about faith, talk about purpose a little bit through your story. But before we get to that conversation, as a former Chicago Bear, can we celebrate?

We had a pretty decent season this year. And so I've heard them called the cardiac Bears because they had so many comeback wins this year. Tell us a little bit about what you think of this year's Bears and what you see as the outlook for the Bears. Yeah, you know, if you're still sitting here, then congratulations. You don't need to see your cardiologist if you're a Bears fan because they put you through the test already this year with those comeback games and as many as they did. But the outlook I think is very bright for the future. I played a decade in the NFL, 10 years on the Bears and the Jets. And I had a lot of rough seasons between both teams and it's hard to match a really good quarterback and a really good coach within the NFL. You never see that too often, you know, because neither one of them just fall off trees. You know, you got the Belichick-Brady connection, sometimes you get Sean Payton and Drew Brees who just made the Hall of Fame. You know, you get those kind of connections. I think Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams can connect and be that type of coach, quarterback leadership that will lead the team where we've already seen a change in the culture. We've already seen the rivalry restored when it comes to the Green Bay Packers because, you know, we've actually beat them twice this year, you know, and, you know, they didn't like that a lot, but they should get used to it because it's going to happen again for multiple years to come. But when you match a coach like that who is driven and has a dynamic offense, but also with a quarterback who's dynamic in the same right, all you need is other small parts and pieces and also a team of faith. I talked to a lot of the guys this past week. I just got back from San Francisco, talked to DJ Moore, talked to Roma Dunze, and faith is a big part of the team, which it was when I was there, but I feel like in the years past it's kind of dwindled a little bit. So I'm encouraged more by that part of the team than just the culture of winning coming

back. I love it. So what I hear you say is that God has His hand on the Bears. That's right. You know, I had to read between the lines to get there, but I think that that's what you were saying. Now obviously a big game later today. You still have friends in the NFL. Who do you got? Who do you got in the middle? I am not so old that I'm far removed from the game that I don't have teammates that are still—or former teammates that are still playing in the game. So I'm going to—I'm rocking with the Seattle Seahawks, a guy named Leonard Williams, Big D lineman who's up front. He's a monster of a guy who—I met him when I was with the Jets, and he was just a young second-year player, but now he's been a pro bowler for many years. I think he's been in his—he's in his 10th year, but he's made it to the Super Bowl. And you know, actually me and my wife went, and he asked us last year to marry him and his wife, and—now wife. So I'm like, wow, he thought enough of me. That means I have— was actually doing some work in the locker room that he saw me as that kind of guy to go and perform the marriage ceremony for him, which I had never done before. And, but also, it was fun to see the growth and maturity of him as a player, but as a man as well. So I'm going with the Seahawks for personal reasons. All right, there you go, there you go. Now, one of the things I've learned about you, Matt,

is you're a family guy, like at heart. Your family's actually here with us today. Tell us, what is it like growing up in the Forte family? It's, I would say, it's fun. And I would, I would, if we asked my kids that question, I would bet they would say the same thing, right? That's right. Just yesterday, we were in the house playing hide and seek, and it's just one of those things, it's like, I'm really a fun dad where I just wanna be active and always keep them entertained and doing something, keep their minds moving, where I never really was a couch potato type of kid. I was always, you know, outside, either riding bikes, playing with my older brother, or, you know, beating his friends up or something like that, or, you know, just going through the neighborhood. I would be on a Saturday morning knocking on people's doors at like 8.30, is Michael up? And they're like, oh, he's still asleep. Like, well, tell him to come outside. I shoot on their basketball goal all morning. So I'm one of those type of kids still, and so our household is fun, yet it is, I think it's filled with, you know, substance as well. It's not all fun all the time. I do like to, you know, show them certain things and teach lessons and do things that will breed future fruit into the world.

So a pastor once told me that my greatest, and most significant contribution to the kingdom of God might not be what I actually do, but who I raise. That's good. And so that's important to me is to raise a good family. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. Now, you wrote a recent book, I've got it here, just called Stay in the Game. You did a great job with the book. You talk a lot about your growing up years, and in it, you, so you weren't necessarily highly recruited out of high school. Even out of college, you didn't get necessarily the attention of all the NFL scouts, but you always had this unwavering belief in yourself. Where did that conviction come from, and what role did faith to keep you grounded through it all? Yeah, I think that was instilled in me, just not only by my parents and their integrity, their character, their makeup, who have been married for 44 years, which is something to clap for in this type of culture that we live in. I think seeing them and having them as an example was majorly important for me. Seeing my mom and dad both strive to be better

than just the cultural norm was something that I watched and gleaned from them. Also, I would say it's the genetic makeup or the spiritual makeup in the way that God made me as well. I am a person who, I can't stand mediocrity. I can't deal with it. Even if sometimes I may have been a victim or someone who has been in mediocrity, I just can't stay there. And so the drive to become better and better and grow into something has always been there. I think we do live in a generation where people think it's instant, and that the success has to come immediately, or whatever it is you're chasing is gonna just show up one day because you're doing the right thing. And for me personally, that drive has just always been inside of me. But also I think, looking back, that it's incredible how God's grace works. Where had I gotten the notoriety and attention and all the fame and the accolades and all the things people kind of basically worshiping you at a young age, I think it would've ruined me. And so for me to strive very hard and be successful on the field, make good grades, and be the best player on the team in high school and in college, but yet not have people clamoring for you was something, a way for God to put his hand on me

and say, stay humble. Stay humble, son, because there's a lot more that is available to you that I'm gonna bring you to, but I want you to be humble in that aspect so that when you get there, it's not all about you. It's about what you can do through me. And so I think, looking back now, I'm like, man, God has been incredibly gracious to even do that, to keep me humble so that I wouldn't ruin myself. Yeah, yeah, super insightful. So you're really honest about your faith journey in your book, which I really appreciated. And you even describe, like early on in your journey, you would say you related to God almost like somebody would relate to a genie in a bottle. I think it's the language that you use, which I think a lot of us can relate to that kind of thing. But then you talk about there was a moment that made your faith very real, and it was kind of a turning point for you. Describe that. Yeah, I think, you know, growing up, my grandfather, my father's father, he was a pastor in Texarkana, Texas, in Hooks, Texas, where his church was, for 60 plus years. You know, never really stepped away from the pulpit until, you know, he was, you know, unable to. And that was instilled in my dad, and my mom was a woman of faith as well,

going to Catholic church. So I went to Catholic Sunday School and Southern Baptist Church. So I got a mix between two different types of Sunday services. And I think the routineness of religion was something that I was drawn to because I'm an athlete. And as an athlete, you need to have a routine. You work out at this time, you eat at this time, you go to practice at this time, the game is at this time. So everything is scheduled. And that routineness is good to get you started. Yes, you need to be in the house of God on Sunday, but does that make you a Christian? No. The way that you operate, the way that you bear fruit is what makes you a Christ follower. And so early on, early on, the routineness of religion was what I relied on. I said, well, I show up every Sunday. And even as a kid, I would get allowance from my mom and dad, you know, for doing chores, cutting the grass and stuff. And I'd give, I'd give in church. So I was a good Christian, right? But then, you know, during the week, you know, I'm at practice, cussing people out, beating people up and just, you know, going crazy.

And then on Sunday, I'm like, and even on Friday when I'm in high school, I go to Friday morning, FCA breakfast, because I was like, if I go to FCA breakfast on Friday, then Friday night, God's gonna let me ball out. That's right. That's how it works, right? And so they also had breakfast too. So I had to get some bacon and eggs and stuff. It was really good and it was free. So, but that routineness of religion had to come to something, as I just spoke about it, I can't stay within mediocrity. And it's something within me that wants to grow and continue to grow. And I think what changed was something that is talked about by Solomon in Proverbs. And it says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And I didn't really understand fearing the Lord until I got older. And it's not the type of fear that is being afraid of something. It was the reverence for a holy God. And so once I acknowledged that, then everything changed. It was like, okay, you know, the amount of grace that God has given you, that you just kind of took for granted, has always been there. Yet I unknowingly haven't even understood

the providence that God has given me, where he's allowed these stepping stones to be in place to allow me to be successful, even when I didn't deserve it. And so that was something that really changed my perspective and allowed me to say, because how we, I guess how we see God is really the direction that we go. If you see God as just the everyday, run-of-the-mill, mundane type of, okay, you know, God is cool, it's a part of my life, I'm a believer, that's all right. Then that's how your spiritual life is gonna be. But if we really understand and take it seriously that he encompasses everything. And the reason we wake up is because his breath is in our lungs. The reason we are able-bodied and able to do anything is because of him. And as Jesus is holding the world together, it's only because of him. And so when I really changed my perspective to seeing that, because you can start to think that as an athlete, and you work out and you do all this stuff and all this athleticism you have, that you can do life, your spiritual life, under your own strength. But when you really realize that you can't and that that never will be fulfilling and that it doesn't work that way, then you start to see Jesus for who he truly is. And then you know that you should be humble

and that it's just a different way that you see him. So that's a different way that you end up. running your life and operating your life, not under your own strength, but relying on Jesus. That's good, that's really good. I mentioned when we started that we've taken this journey through the Sermon on the Mount as a church. We're in the process of memorizing the Sermon on the Mount. I think for some of us, right? Here's a quick little tidbit for those of you who are memorizing Sermon on the Mount, no new verses this week, because we're having a conversation, a little catch up week for you. But the reason why we're doing that is because we just see the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus' way of going about life. And it's really intensely practical in so many different ways, but there's this through line, there's this thread that really is about what a life of integrity, live before God looks like. There's a story you told in your book that really stuck out to me. You'd wrapped up eight years with the Bears, you're a free agent, you had given a verbal commitment to the Jets, but then you got another opportunity with the Patriots. Tell us that story,

and tell us why you made the decision you made. Yeah, so first of all, I didn't pick Seattle to win just because I was mad at the Patriots. Let me get that out the way. But yeah, eight years comes to an end, you know, a great time playing here in Chicago for the Bears. And you could say at that time, it was like a moment of grieving something that was good. But I think when you do live a life of faith, you do have to grieve good things sometimes. And that's just God continuing to change our character, where there's a movement process where we can get comfortable where we are, and God wants to move us to something else. And also, I think the greatest thing about it is like, God will give us the decision, like he'll give you wisdom and guidance, but he'll ultimately let you make the decision. And I had an opportunity to go two different ways, one of two different ways. And I first was in free agency, and the first people who offered me a contract was the New York Jets. So I go on a visit with the intention to sign because I wasn't gonna wait around in free agency just to see what could happen. I wanted to get solidified so the family and everybody knew where we're gonna be and everything,

and all the stuff that goes with moving and all that stuff would happen. And while I'm there, they're doing all the due diligence where they take x-rays and MRIs, and they check your body and look you over and everything, and they took a really long time. And so my agent called, and I called him, and I was like, hey, I thought I came here to sign. They're taking a very long time to do this. Is the deal not getting done, or is this gonna happen? Because I didn't come here just to come here. And he called them to see what the issue is, and they were doing their due diligence, looking at all the things, and were concerned about my knees and the rest of the injuries that had compiled over eight years in the NFL, which can be a lot. For reference, the average running back career is two years. I had already played eight. So I had beaten the odds already, but at the same time, they say when running backs turn 30, they fall off a cliff. And I was always a guy that one of my mottos is when you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. So in the off season, I'm working out and training. I'm just always in preparation mode for the next season. And I told him, I was like, well, he's 30 years old. He's been playing eight years and has been on the field every down for the Chicago Bears. I'm not gonna look like a spring chicken. So with that being said, he calls back and says,

hey, I have Bill Belichick on the line. They want you to come for a visit to the Patriots. You know, you're on the East Coast already. You can get to Boston really quickly. And I said, put me in the car. So I left the facility. I'm halfway to the airport. And what the Patriots do is pretty smart negotiation. Tactic that they do is they don't offer you a contract. They get you in the building. And then I don't know what they do behind the closed doors, but somehow they strong arm people into certain contracts and stuff, which is why, I don't know, I think they have good teams because they kind of negotiate well with a tough tactic like that. So I'm headed there and I get called by Brandon Marshall halfway down the road. He's like, man, what's going on, man? I thought you was going to sign, you know, and we was going, because he was at the Bears with me as well, thought we were going to play together. And I said, hey, they taking too long. They didn't even bring the contract out. There's no deal to be signed. So I'm going to. to the airport, I'm going to visit the Patriots. Bloop, hung up on him. So then my phone rings again, and it's the GM of the Jets, Mike McCagnin.

And I had even seen him when I was there to sign the contract, which was a red flag to me at first, too, because I'm like, if I'm signing, why is the GM not here? And I should have known something then. But I'm in the car, and he was like, thinking that we had a deal and all this other stuff, and so I hung up on him, too. And then I just was in the car, sitting in silence, and I kind of had this overwhelming kind of peace come over me, but also a moment of realization that, Matt, what kind of man do you want to be? Do you want to be a man of your word, where you said, and you gave your word, like, you're going to sign with the Jets and play for them for the second part of your career? Or are you going to kind of do something that looks a little shady and let another team steal you from under their nose? And I just felt like the way that I'm built and set up is that I couldn't really do that. And so I told the driver, I said, turn around and go back to the facility. So we turned around and went back to the Jets facility, and I ended up signing. I told my agent to call Belichick, tell him I'm not coming. And I signed, played with the Jets, and two out of the next three years,

or three out of the next four years, they played in Super Bowls and won two, or three. So I was like, hmm, did I make the right decision? Because they played, you know, if say I do sign with the Patriots, I got two or three rings on my finger right now. But it's not always all about the accolades or the success and those things at the same time. Because I don't believe, and I honestly believe this, that I would be the same person had I went to the Patriots and had that type of career at the end with the Super Bowl rings and things like that. Because I grew more spiritually being with the Jets than I had ever grown on any other team. Me and Brandon Marshall would do devotionals in the morning just me and him. And one of the things that we were going through was the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. And what on earth is my, like why am I here? Why am I here on earth? And it's not to play football. It's not just to do that. That's a part of it, but it's not just that. So imagine being, you know, at the second part or the end of your career and toiling with that in your mind of, you know, even on Sundays in a stadium filled with people kind of looking up in the sky and being like, is this all there is to life? There's gotta be something else.

And that was one of the moments where it really triggered me to understand that where God places me and what I do with the platform and how I steward it is really the purpose. How I share his light as in the Sermon on the Mount and how I'm able to be salt and light. And so that was a moment of, you could say personal conviction and integrity where the cool thing is like, God would have been like, hey, you can go either way what you want to do. I'm gonna be there with you. But I ended up choosing the part where I felt like I would be best suited and felt truer to myself and who I would be. Yeah, I mean, I love that part of it. I was thinking about another part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, he talks about oath. Oaths and basically says, let your yes be yes, your no be no. So when I was reading your book and you had the moment where you turn the car back around to go back and re-sign with the Jets. I'm like, that's what Jesus is talking about. It's just let your yes be yes and your no be no. I'm just grateful for stories like that that just show you're always more concerned with your integrity as a man of God than you were about chasing a championship or whatever that could look like. I think it says a lot about who you are,

your character and grateful for that. What do you think? Absolutely, I mean, even today, like I just came from San Francisco doing radio role and doing stuff and trying to interview guys. And I talk about sports, but I bring faith into it. And I've played in every season of football in the NFL. I've played in preseason. I've played during the regular season. I played in every moment of the playoffs except the Superbowl. And honestly, I'm telling you, being here on a Superbowl Sunday is where I would rather be than on that field, physically. But. Had I had the chance to do that, I'm just trying to think about, yes, that's an opportunity to like really shine a light for God in those moments. And so to understand that is what's more important. Like being in the house of God is just really important. So good. And even post-retirement, you've done a lot of work. You've started a foundation. We're gonna talk about that in just a moment. But you also talked about, you took some global trips after retirement. And I was really moved by some of the stuff and how you talked about that. So you got passionate about Bible translation

and going to parts of the world that people don't have access to translations of the Bible in their own native language. And you were there and you said this, you said this quote, if I can find it. You said, my visits to India opened my eyes to see what it cost me not to treasure scripture. And that statement was really convicting to me. Talk a little bit more about your experiences there and just the value that scripture's held for you. Yeah, it was an amazing trip. And I don't wanna give the facade to you guys that I'm just some finished product sitting up here and I'm perfect. And yeah, just do what I do and you'll be successful. So I didn't wanna go on this trip. I've retired from the NFL. And the last thing I wanted to do was to go to India. And my wife started talking to a lady named Christy Davis, who is over there as well. And Christy, raise your hand. Yeah, that's her. She worked with Biblica, who is a Bible translation organization, and they were doing a mission trip. Everything good in my life has been kind of a result of Danielle pushing me to do it. And she was like, I haven't done a mission trip since I was in high school. She went to the Dominican Republic and they cared for kids

and did a lot of the mission work there. She hadn't done one since high school. So she was like, look, we're retired. We don't have to do this football thing anymore. Let's go on a mission trip. And I was dragging my feet and I was like, yeah, okay. I just said, okay, like that, thinking like, well, we don't have any flights booked or anything, so maybe we can still get out of this. But- Maybe we can go to Indiana. Yeah. That sounds better. Yeah. So we ended up, she stayed in contact with Christy and everything got set, scheduled and everything. And I was like, oh man, this is happening. So we fly 20 something hours over to India and we visited Bangalore, Jaipur and New Delhi. And while being there, learned a lot about the country that India has the highest rate of human trafficking for not only for human trafficking and sex trafficking, but also the highest rate of just child labor. Child forced labor. And we met with people who ran safe havens for women who had been saved and rescued out of trafficking, who sometimes would leave and go back and they'd have to rescue them multiple times because they felt sometimes they just felt out of place and they're like, I'm better off going back

because it was comfortable there, so to speak. And meeting people who, they were really sacrificing a lot of stuff to be associated with the name of Jesus. Met a couple of people who were on a campus where you couldn't have Bible studies, you couldn't say the name of Jesus, yet they were having Bible studies in closets and they would do it actively. And it would be, they would have code words and they would say certain things and they would meet up at certain times and they would have their Bible studies in closets. And then also going to other places where there's extreme poverty. We live in America, the most wealthiest country in the history of the world right now, and then there's poverty here, but I'm talking about extreme poverty. These kids are, little shacks they live in, some of them have no big shirts that they wear because they don't have pants, they don't have shorts to wear, no shoes. A lot of little girls had all their hair shaved off because of lice and different things like that, just different challenges. And I walk into this 15 by 10 little shack and these kids are, in their own language, singing about Jesus. And every picture that came from that trip,

you see like light shining out of their eyes. They had nothing, but they had everything. And coming home and flying home after seeing that and being amongst that, you could never be the same. So that was definitely transformational for me to see that because here in America, a lot of times it doesn't cost us anything to follow the faith of God. And even with myself, and I think about my upbringing, like, yeah. was kind of just ingrained in me since young, but it does in the gospel say that, like count the cost of what it's gonna cost you to follow him, because at some point it's gonna cost you something, and if it hasn't cost you something, I doubt you're following the real Jesus. So that was something that was just transformational for me because I really saw people giving up a lot of stuff that could really harm them to follow Jesus. That's good. And also post-retirement, you've started a foundation, What's Your Forte Foundation. Tell us a little bit more about the foundation and the mission and purpose you currently find in it. Yeah, I started What's Your Forte Foundation. It's a play off the name, obviously, for kids to find something that they can have an avenue of life to bear fruit in whatever it is they do, but also to give back to their own community

once they are successful. Not everybody's an athlete. Not everybody cares about sports. Some kids, they like the arts. Some of them like TV, different things like that. And then you do find with kids a lot, they kind of go for what's most popular. These days, a lot of them, I hear, what do you want to be? I want to be an influencer. You want to influence what? And they don't have an answer for that. Something really big, though. Yeah, something really big. They want to be on TikTok or whatever. Or they'll say they want to be a movie star or rapper or an actor or actress, those things. And it's like, okay, that's cool, but let's expose you to something that you can give your gifts and talents because God has given you those gifts and talents. You just don't know what they are yet and you need to develop them. And we've taken kids behind the news stations to see behind the scenes. Not that you have to be a news anchor, but what about the guy who produces the show? What about the cameraman who they make a living doing this and without them, the show doesn't go as well? So introducing them to different career paths

that will make them successful and allow them to be. Because there's kids on the south and west side of Chicago where I first started the work in Englewood and they had never left the block radius of their own city. Never seen downtown. Never been two neighborhoods over because if I go over there, I'm not from there. I can get robbed, I can get shot, all that stuff. And I started this foundation to cut down in a way on gun violence by giving a avenue for success. Reason being, because when I was at Tulane, as a young player at Tulane, I think a freshman or a sophomore, a guy who I looked up to who was from New Orleans, a guy named Brandon Spencer, was a senior and was about to graduate for the first time, first person in his family to graduate, which he did graduate, but then also he was gonna be able to go to the NFL. He might've been a late round pick but he had the opportunity to go to the NFL. And one afternoon, one night, he's sitting outside of his girlfriend's house in his car about to leave and a jealous ex-boyfriend came up and shot him in the head. And as a freshman, 19, 20, 18, 19-year-old kid who someone close to you because he was a hometown kid like myself, I'm Slidell, New Orleans is right there, seeing how that senseless act had ripple effects

beyond just the shooter and beyond just him, I'm seeing his mother on the front pew, I'm seeing his two children on the front pew because he had two kids at the time and how they aren't gonna grow up with their father anymore. And so to see the impact of gun violence really stuck with me for a long time. Didn't know what God was gonna do with it. When I got to Chicago, I would watch the news. You see the sports come on and they talk about the Bears and the Bulls and Blackhawks, Cubs, Sox, all that stuff. And then boom, they're talking about gun violence. And so that was when it ticked and I was like, you know what? I can use, people do love the Bears. They care about the Bears. Maybe I can use a little bit of my light to try to help people in that aspect. So I started going into Englewood and I would have people tell them we're gonna play flag football. All these kids would come out excited for flag football. The first thing we do is we're gonna sit down and we're gonna talk about life. And so I got to engage them that way and in a way that they thought they were gonna have something else. But we did end up playing flag football but I would engage them with that first.

That's good. Thanks for the work that you're doing, pouring into young people. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Such an incredible work, making a tremendous difference. to wrap up today. Again, your book's called Stay in the Game, and that's certainly a phrase that's necessary to play the game of football as long as you did, but it's also a great principle for faith. And so if you just would leave us with a word of encouragement of what it looks like for us collectively to stay in the game of faith, you know, when things get hard, when God feels distant, when things are a little bit more of a challenge, what does it look like for you and I and for us to stay in the game? Yeah, and there's a subtitle to the book. It says stay in the game, making the most of every season. And that was purposely done that way because there's so many different seasons of life where there's good season, there's bad. And we can't think that God has favoritism on us

because maybe there's more good seasons than bad or that God is not there because maybe there's more bad seasons than good. So staying in the game, and what I wanna leave you guys with, I would say is just that, staying in the game of where God has you. And what that means is relying on God's word deeply, not it just being something that's an accessory or something that's on the side, but really it being the heart of who you are and what it is that you do or that you want to do. Because when it comes down to it, there's only one thing in the world that can allow heart transformation and renewal of mind, and that's the word of God. You can read any other book. Every other book is dead. It's the living word of God that is gonna transform your heart and renew your mind so you have a different perspective or whatever God's perspective is for your life and desire. And my prayer is I always ask God that he would align my desires with his to match his will. Because what do we do when God disappoints? And what I mean by that is there's plenty of times you can be a believer in Jesus and you can be doing all the right things and things still go wrong. And so that can be a disappointment.

But if you have God's word and you have his peace that he gives you, his word will truly give you the path and the understanding because a lot of times everything that God allows into your life, because first of all, everything that happens has to pass through the fingertips of God. He has to allow it or he's gonna block it. So whatever happens, good or bad, he has to allow it, but also it has the opportunity to make you better. And if we understand that, then we won't be in this uncertainty of faith where you're questioning if God is really there, if you're questioning what he's doing with your life. And I think that staying in the game is just that, where no matter what goes on, culturally, no matter what goes on within your own family, you're gonna lose, the longer you live, you're gonna lose people. You're gonna have detrimental things that will happen. I'm not trying to be like a Debbie Downer, but things happen in life the longer you live and you'll notice that. But if you have the solid rock and foundation of God in your life, then nothing, you're unshakable. You can be unshakable in that aspect. That's good. That's good. It's kind of made me actually think about

how the Sermon on the Mount ends. You know, it's about building your house on that solid foundation. And it really is all about building your life with God's word and living that out. Matt, it's been a gift to have you with us this weekend. Thanks so much for joining us here at Willow. Can you... Would you be willing to just close this out with a word of prayer, praying for our church, maybe praying for all locations? Yeah, of course. Be great. Father God, I come to you now humbly asking for your grace, asking for your mercy, Lord. I pray for Willow Creek Church, every person standing here, every person under the sound of my voice, Lord, that you would cover them, that you would cover them not only physically, but you would cover them spiritually, cover them emotionally, that you would cover them in a way that allows them to have that solid conviction without doubt that you are the one true God and that you care for them. and that they are deeply loved by you. Father, we thank you and we pray for all your grace and your mercy and the paths that you give us. Lord, we pray for clarity within life. We pray for, Lord, just our fleshly desires to diminish.

As John 3.30 says, that Lord, we would decrease, but you increase. And Father God, we just pray mostly, Lord, that we would seek you and that we would seek you first and seek your kingdom, Lord. So God, we thank you, we love you, and we praise you. We give you all the glory, honor, and praise in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus, amen. Amen. Thank you. Thanks, brother. Privilege to have you.